Trump rips Black Lives Matter protesters in Pittsburgh: ‘Thugs!’
President Trump on Tuesday slammed a group of protesters after a video went viral this week showing demonstrators confronting diners eating outdoors at a restaurant in Pittsburgh.
“BLM Protesters horribly harass elderly Pittsburgh diners, scaring them with loud taunts while taking their food right off their plate. These Anarchists, not protesters, are Biden voters, but he has no control and nothing to say. Disgraceful. Never seen anything like it. Thugs,” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.
Trump also claimed that “because of weak and pathetic Democrat leadership, this thuggery is happening in other Democrat run cities and states” and that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), “won’t even talk about it.”
BLM Protesters horribly harass elderly Pittsburgh diners, scaring them with loud taunts while taking their food right off their plate. These Anarchists, not protesters, are Biden voters, but he has no control and nothing to say. Disgraceful. Never seen anything like it. Thugs!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2020
….And because of weak and pathetic Democrat leadership, this thuggery is happening in other Democrat run cities and states. Must shut them down fast. Biden and his most Liberal in Senate running mate, Kamala, won’t even talk about it. They won’t utter the words, LAW & ORDER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2020
Biden’s campaign has repeatedly condemned violence amid ongoing nationwide protests calling for widespread police reforms and racial justice. Demonstrators in the footage do not mention Biden.
Trump has continually attacked Biden over the protests and unrest, saying that the former vice president blames police over the violence instead of demonstrators.
The video of some demonstrators yelling at individuals at the Pittsburgh diner went viral over the weekend. Customers at the restaurant can be seen leaving their tables in the footage.
In one video, a demonstrator appears to leave a group of protesters and drink a customer’s beverage. Another protester yells through a megaphone at the diners.
A Facebook user named Grace Harvey shared footage of the incident, sharing that “we witnessed demonstrators bullying, harassing and physically assaulting random people simply walking past them or quietly enjoying a meal.”
Yesterday I was enjoying a late lunch in Pittsburgh on an outdoor table when a “peaceful” demonstration came though…
Posted by Grace Harvey on Sunday, September 6, 2020
The protester who drank the customer’s beverage, Nique Craft, said the video did not show other individuals that were yelling “Blue lives matter” back at the protesters, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Craft said a man in the restaurant criticized the protesters, and the woman he was with offered for Craft to come have a beer and discuss the situation.
“So, being a theatrical, snarky type of person that I am, I said that I don’t have time to wait for you to order another beer; I will take the one you have,” Craft told the outlet. Other protesters also called for peaceful demonstrations to the outlet.
Police in Pittsburgh are reviewing footage and information from Saturday’s protests, police spokesperson Cara Cruz confirmed to the Post-Gazette.
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